Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this
page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment.
Everything is subject to change. Please email me with
any tips about upcoming events in Southern California. As the rest of
the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there
are any) as I become aware of them. Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar. I always try to favor free signing events over paying events. Click on any pic to embiggen.

Certainly related to the wealth of talent currently within the farm system, the Dodgers have eight base cards within the recently release 2016 Topps Pro Debut Baseball card set. As you know, this brand highlights the best and brightest prospects in the game, and features these players on the flagship Baseball card design. I love the fact that they are all wearing the uniforms of their minor league teams. Go here to see a complete checklist.

Below are pics of the eight Dodgers prospects in the set. Of note, this set includes the very first licensed card of right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz. He was drafted 78th overall by the Dodgers last year, and is currently pitching in high-A ball for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

It started out with a fantastic ceremony in honor of the men and women in the armed forces, and included an enlistment ceremony for all four branches. The photo above, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016, features the ceremony.

Then Mike Bolsinger came in to start his second game of the year and was fantastic. He went 5.2 innings and gave up three hits, two earned runs and recorded six strike outs to win his first game of the season. During the game, though, a bunch of weird things happened. In the sixth inning Yasiel Puig came up to bat with two men on and rocketed a deep fly to right field. In fact, it was so deep he thought he hit a homer, so instead of running hard out of the box he stood and admired it. When the ball fell short of the wall he traipsed onto first base instead of the base he should have ended up at. For his transgression he was benched for the rest of the game. Via Chad Thornburg at MLB.com:

"In my opinion, he should have been on second base," Dodgers manager
Dave Roberts said. "When we talk about playing the game the right way,
we've got to be accountable. So that was the decision that I made."

BTW, that was a great call by Dave Roberts. Listen to him talk about it briefly towards the end of this video (video link). Via Dan Arritt at ESPN:

"I thought it was a home run, and then I didn't run out the ball,
obviously," Puig said through an interpreter. "It was [Roberts']
decision to take me out of the game. It was a decision well made,
because all my teammates are out on the field working hard, and I should
have run out that ball."

Then in the seventh inning something funny and strange happened. A paper airplane landed on the infield with the Dodgers at bat, so the resident "no-fun" ballplayer Joey Votto let everyone know what he thought of that. He stomped on it like an insolent child. You can watch a gif of it here. Obviously, Dodger fans booed him. Then something incredible happened. They started chanting "airplane stomper." I kid you not!

I hope quirky chants like this become a tradition at games. Heck, maybe decades from now fans will still chant this at the Reds... Just for fun. It'll be like NY Rangers fans who still chant "Potvin Sucks" nearly 30 years after his terrible check against an Islanders player.

Oh... The Dodgers offense came alive and scored eight runs to win their third straight game. Go here to check out a bunch of great photos from Jon SooHoo from the game. Below are more links to check:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 2002 Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson struck out Shawn Green to record his 3,509th career strike out to surpass Hall of Famer Walter Johnson on the all time list. BTW, Green also hit two homers in the game to become the first Major Leaguer to hit seven round-trippers in three consecutive games. In 2014 Josh Beckett threw his only career no-hitter against the Phillies. Watch highlights from the game here.

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis